Richard McKown’s Return to the Canvas – story for 405 Magazine

Headline and Lede

If you know the name Richard McKown, it’s probably due to his prolific and highly successful real estate developments of late in downtown Oklahoma City. But before he was a developer, he trained and practiced heavily in visual arts, focusing on drawing and sculpting. In the past several years, he has been exploring painting, some examples of which have been revealed at Artspace at Untitled in an exhibition that opened Nov. 20.

Background

This is my first piece for the formerly-named Slice Magazine, now re-branded as 405 Magazine.

Richard McKown was such a willing subject and so articulate, I decided to do an IntersectionsOKpodcast where we talk more about this subject and even include a post-opening rundown. It is also the first time that I have synchronized an episode of this new podcast with the publishing of an article.

I was able to dig into the deeper meanings and issues surrounding his two-panel depiction of the Last Supper because of my background in theology. They are, at least, a departure from the usual depictions of the Last Supper.

(The photograph on this post is mine and was used for the podcast. 405 used other professional photography.)